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Conference Calls 416
Setting Up Conference Calls 1) Remember that you should make a conference call every two weeks, or as infrequent or frequent as your sponsor deems necessary. 2) Either email or call your project sponsor to set up the call. Be specific and include several times that will work for your group. It's also a good idea to establish a conference time each week or every other week with the expectation between you and your sponsor that the conference will happen at that time throughout the semester unless otherwise specified. 3) Formulate a list of questions to give to your sponsor or an agenda of topics to talk about. This is very important. Having an agenda allows your conversation to stay rolling and makes sure nothing is forgotten. It also gives your sponsor a heads-up on the topics that will be discussed. You should take advantage of the fact that you are having a conversation with your sponsor- so get more out of it than you would in an email! 4) Be on time! 5) To set up the call itself, see the section below... 6) End every call/meeting by scheduling the next call/meeting. This keeps the project moving as well and introducing a level of responsibility on both sides. Scheduling the Conference Call The Fish Bowl conference phone number is (509) 335-7267. To call out from the fish bowl, dial 71 followed by the conference call number. Conference Calls need to be scheduled through the MME Department if you cannot fit into the fish bowl (EE/ME152A). Contact Linda in Sloan 201 at 509-335-8654 or by her e-mail lpeppel@wsu.edu : Scheduling through Sloan 201: *Alternate Conference Rooms Available **Sloan 245 - Capacity 16-20 people **EE/ME 143 (Dr. Chuck's Office) - Capacity 4-6 people *When making the conference call in these rooms, be sure to dial 7-1-(area code)-(number) Scheduling through Dana 146: To set up the conference call, talk with Nelda Richards in Dana 146. *Conference Rooms Available **ETRL 101 - Capacity 66 people **ETRL 103 - Capacity 8-10 people **ETRL 119 - Capacity 40 people *When making the conference call in these rooms, you must obtain a calling access code from Linda in Sloan 201 to dial long distance. The office probably won't give you the number, but will have a staff member come down when its time to make the call. If they do give you an access code: dial 7-1-(area code)-(number), wait for a beep, enter access code. *If none of the rooms are available, the school study rooms ( Holland Terrell Library, Owen Science library, The Spark) can be decent alternatives. On the Spark's 3rd floor, all the rooms are sound proof and have smart TVs, which allows you to have internet access for Skype or other video meeting software. Also, remember to always have two rooms reserved, just in case one of the room reservations has any problems at the time of the conference call. Phone 416 Some other useful information is available on the Phone 416 page. During the Call 1) At the beginning of the call, make sure each person says something to announce their presence. Alternatively, have one group member tell the sponsor who all is in the room. This will take the pressure off of your project liason and ensure everyone's questions get addressed. 2) Remember: you ARE on a speakerphone, so speak as clearly and concisely as possible to eliminate confusion. 3) Avoid talking amongst yourselves in the background. 4) Take notes during the call - if you decide to record the conversation, make sure you let your sponsor know! It's easiest to make a writeboard for each conference call with the agenda for the meeting. You can then edit the agenda real-time to take down the minutes and summarize in terms of each item on the agenda. 5) Avoid loud shrieking outbursts when an idea pops up into your head; instead, write it down and show it to your group members to seek approval before you drop the bomb on the client. 6) Before ending the call, make sure you establish the expectations of deliverables/goals for the next conference call. It's a good idea to also establish a timeline for achieving those goals, which can be done after the conference with your group if it is not dependent on sponsor input. 7) When talking on the speakerphone be aware of the volume of your voice. You don't need to speak loud, just speak up. Center the phone on the table or around the people talking to balance volume and to minimize paper rustling sounds. 8) Before the conference call, have all questions ready so that you do not waste time. 9) Let the sponsor know any progress since the last communication or changes that are going to be made. 10) Make sure to silence your cell phones before making the call. 11) Always be polite and diplomatic with your sponsor. "The client is always right." But if they want something you can't deliver on, make sure that your sponsor understands why their expectation is unreasonable. In the Fish Bowl Using WebEx WebEx is an online meeting space. It is usually used simultaneously with conference calling. If your sponsor is using it they should provide you the links and password info. Any WSU employee can contact IT help desk and request an account for scheduling conferences. Not sure if students can request accounts on the system. Just like a conference call get set up a few minutes before the call. You can upload any documents that you need to. Everyone sees the same thing at the same time. Note that WebEx uses an 800 number, and so doesn't require an access code from the office. More information about the system is available at: http://infotech.wsu.edu/help/telephone/confbridge.html An alternative to WebEx is JoinMe. JoinMe allows for screen sharing along with the conference call. Team members and clients can join into the conference call through the join.me website using the join meeting code. One team member will be signed in through Dr. Chuck's account to facilitate the meeting. Using a PowerPoint Presentation for a Conference Call It’s a good idea to use an official WSU template for your presentation. Don’t forget these details: 1) Email the presentation to your sponsor before the conference call so that they can print a hard copy if needed. 2) On the Title page slide, include: *WSU team name *sponsor company’s full name (not just what you call them) *date of call *include page numbers on all slides (including title slide) 3) Another slide: Meeting agenda, for this call, and the next call 4) Include any and all info, diagrams, charts, musings that could be considered remotely important. Not all slides need to be covered in extreme detail, but it is easier to skip slides than add slides. 5) Number the pages of the slide. This minimizes confusion if there is a question that requires you to reference a different slide. Nit Picky Details 1) When presenting and using the mouse to highlight what you are saying (like a laser pointer) remember to move the pointer off of the main page when done. Leaving the cursor on the shared main page is distracting. 2) Don’t jump around slides. If you reference something from a previous slide don’t flip back to it unless they ask. 3) If you are sitting at a computer that is not near the speakerphone, remember to speak even louder. Category:ME 416 Help